“Poetry for Everybody” – Doralee Brooks in Allegheny County
Life-long educator and poet Doralee Brooks named new Poet Laureate for Allegheny County.
Dreaming at the Mattress Factory
Given that the Mattress Factory once made literal mattresses, the place where dreams most often form in our minds, it feels fitting that it’s now a site for collective dreaming.
Exiles Living in a Church
It certainly isn’t cool, or edgy, or funny–the things people say about what it must be like to live in a church. It’s relentless.
In Pittsburgh, Local Journalism Is Worth the Fight
Having two major news sources in the city owned by notoriously anti-worker management can’t be good. For local journalism to be good, local journalism jobs need to be good.
Carrie Furnace’s Blood, Sweat, and Fire
These hulking behemoths with their slag and hot metal are rarely described as beautiful, but yet I am drawn to them over and over again.
Kindness is Its Own Memory
On terrible pantyhose, bad sports writing, and the eternal kindness of the late great Franco Harris.
Under Kaufmann’s Clock
On Families, Department Stores, and America
Overnight, the geese
A poem by Lex Vacilando.
On the Post-Gazette Picket Line
Of course, the irony here is that 30 years ago, the Post-Gazette found itself in the midst of a similar strike. And it’s the only reason the Post-Gazette is still around today.
Sharpsburg, PA – Past, Present, Future
The past, present, and future coexist simultaneously in Sharpsburg, and for the moment, one hasn’t pushed the other out.
Rushdie and Free Speech, from Tehran to Pittsburgh
Literature isn’t just under attack in Iran, China, or El Salvador, however.
How Some Communities are Monitoring Their Own Air Quality
In Ohio, local advocacy groups are using low-cost sensors to gather information.